The Heartless Bastards, formed in Dayton, Ohio in 2003, is a garage rock band. They are often compared to fellow Ohioans and Fat Possum labelmates The Black Keys. History At age 22, Erika Wennerstrom moved to Cincinnati, and met Mike Lamping. They hooked up and began playing gigs as the Heartless Bastards, which was originally formed as a five piece band with members Dave Colvin on drums, Adam McAllister on bass and Michael Weinel on lead guitar. They played their first live show at The Comet, a bar in the Cincinnati community of Northside, in August 2003. After parting ways with Colvin, McAllister and Weinel, the group reformed as a three piece with Kevin Vaughn on drums and Mike Lamping on bass. The band was signed to Fat Possum Records in 2004 after Patrick Carney from The Black Keys passed on a demo he received from Erika. This 5-song demo was recorded in December 2002 at Ultrasuede Studios by Shannon McGee and featured Colvin o